Description

9th New York Cavalry Archive. Letters, approximately 75 in
total, written by members of the 9th NY cavalry including John and
William Hiller, George C. Wooly, and Everett W. Torry. The letters
are all war dated and range from November 11, 1861 to November 7,
1863. The majority of letters in the collection are from John
Hiller, who served in Company D. It should be noted that the
spelling and grammar of the letters is very poor, so all excerpts
have been corrected to be more easily legible. Also accompanying
the letters is an unidentified tin type of a Union cavalry soldier,
possibly one of the men in this archive.

The unit was known as the Stoneman Cavalry, after General George
Stoneman, and saw action at important engagements such as
Williamsburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Brandy Station, the
Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and the Appomattox Campaign.
It has been argued that the 9th NY cavalry were the first to fire
at the Confederate army after the two armies encountered each other
outside of Gettysburg. They claim the first shot was fired by
Corporal Alpheus Hodges on the Chambersburg Pike, although this has
been challenged by the 8th Illinois Cavalry who believe they took
the first shot.

As cavalrymen, it was important to have quality horses and
equipment. John wrote home on July 2, 1862 near Alexandria, to
notify his parents that he and his brother had procured some fine
horses and were enjoying their time. He wrote, in part: "...we
are well except little sore, riding a horseback, we got our horses
the first of July, and we didn't have chance to get our saddles
before we left and rode them bare back, and had nothing but a rope
halter. We had some fun, some of the horses had never been rode
before...William and I have got each of us a good horse."

The following month, the two Hiller brothers arrived at Culpeper,
Virginia just as the Battle of Cedar Mountain was concluding.
Although they did not participate in the fight, they still
witnessed the destruction and aftermath of the battle. On August
15, 1862, John wrote from Locust Dale, Virginia, in part: "it is
with joy I write you a few lines as our lives are still spared as
we have seen some hard times since the battle here. We didn't get
where the fighting was till it was over. We got there in the night
some time and from the battle field to Culpeper we meet the wounded
soldiers all along the road for several miles. It too looked hard.
The next day we went out a scoutand it was Sunday morning
and they all thought there would be another fight but the rebs got
enough and since then we have been chasing them up. We passed over
the battle ground and we saw several of the rebels soldiers lying
on the ground there was for days after the fight."

In September the 9th NY Cavalry was stationed around Washington,
D.C. in an attempt to pin down General Jackson. John's letter of
September 8, 1862 reads, in part: "We are about five miles from
Washington, we're in the woods, and we have to forage for our
horses most of the times. Old Jackson runs so fast we don't know
when the rebels will get whipped out." A little more than a
week later, the cavalry was still in pursuit of Jackson, and were
now newly armed. A September 19, 1862 letter reads, in part: "We
are still lying near Washington. We have just got some new carbines
or rifles. They only weigh five lbs. we all like them we can kill a
rebel every minute. We expect to soon have a chance to try them
since the rebels are coming back to Virginia...have you seen
anything of Stonewall. They say his army is playing out I hope that
is the case."

In one of his letters, Hiller records an unusual phenomenon, when
Union soldiers were deserting after the Battle of Fredericksburg.
This in itself was not unusual as morale had hit a low after the
Union's devastating defeat, but Hiller goes on to claim that the
deserters went on to join the ranks of the Confederate army. The
January 28, 1863 letter reads in part: "...we are camped in the
pine woods on the banks of the Rappahannock River. It is some
twelve miles from Fredericksburg. We are to the right of
Burnside...we have seen some hard times this last week. Our horses
have to keep them saddled night and day & most of the time we
expect to have a fight soon. The rebels a regiment close to us. Our
boys picked up twelve of our own boys trying to run away from
Burnsides army when they was out on a scout there is lots of them
running away in to the rebels lines."

Another battle that the 9th NY cavalry was lucky to avoid was the
engagement at Chancellorsville. Rather than participate in the
battle, the unit was stationed across the river at Stafford while
their comrades were cut down or taken prisoner by the Confederates.
Hiller wrote on May 9, 1863, in part: "There has been a hard
fight across the Rappahannock again it is a dreadful one thousands
have been killed some of our boys in our regiment was killed &
if we had been mounted we would have been in the fight too, but we
had to stay here to guard Stafford. Some of the regiments was half
killed and taken prisoners. I will tell you the rebels fight like
tigers."

At the Battle of Gettysburg, the 9th NY cavalry met the Confederate
army in the early hours of July 1 along the Chambersburg Pike. The
bravery shown by them on that day and the following two days of the
battle earned the unit a beautiful monument, which was dedicated on
July 1, 1888. Following the battle, John wrote home with a short
description of the battle at Gettysburg and the subsequent chase
after the retreating Confederate army. His letter, dated July 13,
1863, reads in part: "today finds both of us well as usual
although we are some tired of long marches and being up nights and
laying on the ground for our humble resting place. Only when we
don't sleep in the saddle. We have had a good deal of rainy weather
here lately and it makes it pour cold rain, but we are in good
spirits for we think the rebels is about played. One more battle
like Gettysburg will tell the story for the rebels were piled up on
heap and now want to care for their wounds. They beg for help. I
can't tell you much about the fight only it was a warm place. The
whizzing of shells and balls made the air ring." In a letter
from John's brother, Ami Hiller, on July 20, 1863, we learn that
John had some near misses during the battle, as he writes, "I
had a letter from the boys they are well. John said they were in
the battle of Gettysburg he got his horse hit twice but came out
safe."

As mentioned above, other letters included in the archive are from
William Hiller, George C. Wooly, and Everett W. Torry. There are
also a few anniversary ribbons, which commemorate the recruitment
and mustering out of the unit, as well as a CDV of General
Stoneman. Some letters are accompanied by their original
transmittal envelopes.

Condition: Letters range from very good to good, with usual
mail folds and varying degrees of toning and soiling. Light foxing
is present in places. Tintype case is worn and beginning to
separate. The tintype has cracks and some imperfections.